This invention relates to the field of mechanisms for the assembly of the various components comprising the body which is attached to the shank of a hook during the production of artificial fly fishing hooks and lures, and in particular relates to a novel method for the pre-assembly of all body components or dubbing prior to attachment to the hook shank.
It is known that in the field of sport fishing and specifically fly fishing that the angler goes to great length to match his lure to the specific aquatic or airborne insect currently being found attractive by the fish as a source of food. When such an insect is identified, the angler then selects for use a pre-made fly hook which closely resembles the natural insect.
It will be appreciated that the art of fly-tying is a skill which is beyond the expertise of many avid anglers and is generally so time consuming that custom fly-tying during a fishing trip is considered impracticable by most. In addition due to these constraints should an especially effective fly hook be damaged or lost while in use, the angler must either replace it or utilize a less effective substitute. Both options are unsatisfactory due to the associated cost in the case of the former, and dissatisfaction in the case of the latter.
It is known to use so-called dubbing to match the normal seasonally expected insects. Dubbing can be pre-made in quantity and quickly attached to the shank of a hook of the size required for the specific species and size of fish, without prolonged interruption, while the angler is fishing. It is one object to provide an apparatus which may be carried by an angler while fishing for the convenient manufacture of new dubbing matching current fishing conditions.
The dubbing process has been in use for over a century in Europe and is considered xe2x80x9cstate of the artxe2x80x9d in the fly tying industry. One or more materials are mixed or blended and often a bright sparkle synthetic is added to give the blend a flashy, light reflecting quality. This mixture is known as xe2x80x9cdubbing material.xe2x80x9d Fly tying thread is attached to a fly hook that is held in a fly tiers vice. The thread is often treated with xe2x80x9cdubbing waxxe2x80x9d or a bonding agent and a twisting motion wraps the dubbing material onto the thread. The xe2x80x9cfuzzyxe2x80x9d thread is then wrapped around the fly hook. This procedure is the standard method of xe2x80x9cdubbingxe2x80x9d. The end resulting fly has a very xe2x80x9cbuggyxe2x80x9d unique look compared to the usual appearance of a yarn wrapped fly. It is arguable that the world""s best looking, fish catching flies are dubbed flies. This is due to their xe2x80x9clife likexe2x80x9d and natural appearance.
The dubbing material used is affixed to the tier""s thread by means of a sticky dubbing wax or bonding agent and is loosely held in position. Although the artistic appearance is excellent, the overall strength of the fly is very limited. The dubbed fly will readily fall apart during the fish catching process, limiting the life of the fly. Often the dubbed fly must have a xe2x80x9cribbingxe2x80x9d wrapped around the body in order to xe2x80x9choldxe2x80x9d the dubbing material in place. This is sometimes undesirable and strength is limited due to the overall strength of the xe2x80x9cribbingxe2x80x9d it""s self. As well, the fly is only as strong as the thread and glue that binds it together. Many traditionally constructed dubbed flies have an extremely short useful life span. Many exact copies of the same pattern must be on hand when fishing. Traditional dubbing is a time consuming process. The necessity to duplicate numerous exact patterns creates the reality of the xe2x80x9cdisposable fly.xe2x80x9d Due to this xe2x80x9cdisposabilityxe2x80x9d inexpensive fly hooks are often used to compensate for the overall cost of reproducing multiple copies. Inexpensive fly hooks are inferior in their overall strength and are often not nearly as sharp right out of the box. Inexpensive hooks often dull faster than premium hooks and are subject to breakage or deformation on large fish. xe2x80x9cInferiorxe2x80x9d fly-fishing hooks are a huge disadvantage to the fly fisherman. A fly fisherman heading out on a fishing trip often takes 6-12 flies of the exact same pattern in order to have ample supply.
Dubbing materials may be as follows:
A machine for dubbing assembly in fly hook production includes a base having a vertical dowel mounted to one end of the base, and a housing mounted to the other end. A work platform is pivotally mounted to one side of the base so that the platform may be elevated or lowered. A drive motor is mounted within the housing. The motor drives a drive shaft. The drive shaft terminates in a hook or eye. A second eye is mounted to the vertical dowel. The second eye projects toward, in opposed facing relation with, the drive shaft. The second eye supports a tensioning spring which has a barrel swivel attached to its opposite end. One or more filaments may be attached to a ring on the barrel swivel so as to extend across the work platform and be secured to the hook or eye on the drive shaft. Dubbing material is applied to a single filament or sandwiched between double strand filaments. Double strand filaments are twisted into a helix to flare the dubbing material.
The housing contains a power source, such as a battery, for the drive motor and a means whereby the rate of rotation of the drive motor may be selectively controlled by a user, such as by a rheostat or linear potentiometer. A switch may be provided to isolate the power source from the drive motor.
Thus in summary, according to the invention as claimed herein, the apparatus of the present invention for making a single strand dubbed filament includes: a base having first and second opposite ends, a motor mounted on the first end of the base, a driveshaft coupled to the motor, the motor for rotating the driveshaft at a selectable constant rotation speed about an axis of rotation, a rigid support mounted at the second end of the base, a resilient biasing means mounted to the rigid support, a swivel coupling mounted to the resilient biasing means in opposite relation to the rigid support and in opposed facing relation to the driveshaft, the driveshaft and the swivel coupling lying on the axis of rotation, wherein, when a flexible filament is secured at a first end of the filament to the driveshaft and secured at an opposite second end of the filament to the swivel coupling so as to lie along the axis of rotation, actuation of the motor rotates the driveshaft and the filament about the axis of rotation, whereby adhering dubbing material by adhesive to the filament driving the rotation of the filament forms a single strand dubbed filament.
The resilient biasing means may be a tensioning spring.
The swivel coupling may be a frictional swivel coupling restricting rotation of the second end of the filament to a rotation rate that is less than a simultaneous rotation rate of the driveshaft and the first end of the filament.
The frictional swivel coupling, may be a barrel swivel.
Advantageously, a work platform is provided which is selectively positioniable into parallel relation to the axis of rotation. The work platform is pivotally mounted to the base so as to be pivotable between an elevated generally horizontal position, wherein an upper planar surface of the platform is adjacent the axis of rotation, and a lowered position lowered towards the base array from the axis of rotation wherein the upper planar surface remains parallel to the axis of rotation.
The selectable constant rotation speed of the motor may be selectively controlled by a linear potentiometer.
The apparatus of the present invention for making a double strand dubbed filament includes: a base having first and second opposite ends, a motor mounted on the first end of the base, a driveshaft coupled to the motor, the motor for rotating the driveshaft at a selectable constant rotation speed about an axis of rotation, a rigid support mounted at the second end of the base, a resilient biasing means mounted to the rigid support, a coupling mounted to the resilient biasing means in opposite relation to the rigid support and in opposed facing relation to the driveshaft, the driveshaft and the coupling lying on the axis or rotation, wherein, when a flexible filament is secured at a first end of the filament to the driveshaft and secured at an opposite second end of the filament to the coupling so as to lie along the axis of rotation, actuation of the motor rotates the driveshaft and the filament about the axis of rotation, and wherein the filament comprises a pair of filament strands which, when tensioned, are snugly adjacent and parallel, the pair of filament strands of a flexible permanently deformable material wherein the rotation of the filament permanently twists the pair of filament strands around one another about the axis of rotation so as to permanently twist an array of dubbing material fibres spread along so as to be generally perpendicular to, and sandwiched between, the pair of filament strands into a hairy three dimensional body of revolution about the axis of rotation, whereby a dubbing brush is produced.
As before, the resilient biasing means may be a tensioning spring.
In one embodiment the coupling is a frictional swivel coupling restricting rotation of the second end of the filament to a rotation rate that is less than a simultaneous rotation rate of the driveshaft and the first end of the filament. The frictional swivel coupling may be a barrel swivel.
A work platform is provided in one embodiment which is selectively positionable into parallel relation to the axis of rotation. The work platform is pivotally mounted to the base so as to be pivotable between an elevated generally horizontal position, wherein an upper planar surface or the platform is adjacent the axis of rotation, and a lowered position lowered towards the base array from the axis of rotation wherein the upper planar surface remains parallel to the axis of rotation.
The selectable constant rotation speed of the motor may be selectively controlled by a linear potentiometer.
The method of the present invention of making a single strand dubbed filament includes the steps of:
(a) securing the ends of a single strand filament to the driveshaft and the swivel coupling so that the filament lies along the axis of rotation,
(b) applying adhesive along the filament,
(c) actuating the motor so as to rotate the filament about the axis of rotation,
(d) adhering dubbing material to the filament as the filament is rotating about the axis of rotation.
The method may include the further step of restricting a rate of rotation of the swivel coupling about the axis of rotation relative to a rate of rotation of the driveshaft so as to restrict rotation of the end of the filament secured to the swivel coupling relative to rotation of the end of the filament secured to the driveshaft upon the actuation of the motor.
The method may also include the further step of positioning a work platform into parallel relation to the axis of rotation.
The method may also include the further step of selectively controlling the selectable constant rotation speed by means of a linear potentiometer.
The method of the present invention of making a double strand dubbing brush includes the steps of:
(a) securing the ends of a double strand filament to the driveshaft and to the coupling so as to tension the filament therebetween and so as to maintain strands of the double strand filament snugly adjacent and parallel, wherein the strands are of a permanently deformable material when twisted,
(b) spreading an array of dubbing material fibres generally evenly along, so as to be generally perpendicular to, and sandwiched between the strands,
(c) actuating the motor so as to twist the filament about the axis of rotation thereby permanently twisting the strands around one another, whereby the dubbing material fibres are anchored between the strands and rotated about the axis of rotation to form a hairy three dimensional body of revolution about the axis of rotation.
The method may include the further step of restricting a rate of rotation of the coupling about the axis of rotation relative to a rate of rotation of the driveshaft by means of a frictional swivel coupling so as to restrict rotation of the end of the filament secured to the frictional swivel coupling relative to rotation of the end of the filament secured to the driveshaft upon the actuation of the motor.
The method may also include the further step of positioning a work platform into parallel relation to the axis of rotation.
The method may also include the further step of selectively controlling the selectable constant rotation speed by means of a linear potentiometer.
The method may also include the further step of elevating the work platform, wherein the work platform is pivotally mounted to the base, into a generally horizontal position adjacent the axis of rotation prior to the step of spreading the dubbing material fibres along the strands.
The present invention includes a dubbing brush made according to the above method. In particular the present invention includes within its scope a double strand dubbing brush having:
(a) a helix core of two permanently twisted flexible elongate members
(b) a substantially uniform array of generally parallel fibres spread along, so as to be sandwiched between, the two permanently twisted flexible elongate members, the array generally bisected by the helix,
(c) the array flared so as to form a radially extending array about the helix uniformly dense aid uniformly distributed along the helix core.
The dubbing brush may include flexible elongate members made of wire. Further, in the dubbing brush a majority of the fibres in the array may be of uniform thickness and length, and the fibres may have been stacked and brushed or raked out during twisting formation of the helix core.
Also included within the scope of the present invention is a fly hook which includes:
(a) a dubbing hook brush made according to the method of the present invention,
(b) winding the dubbing brush around a shank of the fly hook to form a body,
(c) trimming the body over a first portion of the body, and
(d) brushing out the body over a remaining portion of the body.
Further, the fly hook may include a tail mounted to the shank, wherein the tail is a tail mounted to the shank, wherein the tail is a second dubbing brush made according to the method the present invention, the tail mounted at one end thereof to the shank so as to trail the tail from the shank.